What Happened
by IrethAncalime3791
Summary: Fred tries to convince Hermione to take him seriously. Sequel to "The Right Choice of Words". Rating for language and names synonymous with Malfoy.


**What Happened**

_Disclaimer_: I do not own Rowling's characters.

…

The ceiling was dark and empty. Fred stared at it for a long time in thought. He lay in bed, remembering what had just happened. Hermione remained in his head, keeping him awake with her abrupt dismissal he mentally replayed.

_Special_.

He supposed he could have found a better word, but he truly had meant it.

And she had laughed. She had laughed long and hard and uncontrollably, with tears in her eyes.

Fred turned over in a huff, gazing over the side of his bed in the dark. He suddenly felt a little angry.

So what if he had kissed other girls? It just happened. It was normal. In all honesty, he hadn't expected this event with Hermione. If he had known it would take place, he probably would not have had those recent kisses. Sometimes they were only on the spur of the moment and out of curiosity.

He remembered his kiss with Hermione…a lot more pleasant than what others might expect, from what they said about her being so boring and uptight.

Heh.

Fred smiled.

She really wasn't, if you knew her.

Hermione Granger was a plain girl, Fred had thought when he first met her. And a little annoying. Followed the rules _way _too much, and probably had never missed a day of her Muggle school because she found it too thrilling. Even more annoying than that, she tried to learn everything about the Wizarding World and became much too happy to know something Magicborn wizards didn't. She was too transparent. She didn't keep any of her joy to herself, and she also told everyone when she disagreed with them.

At times she had told Fred and George they were too reckless and carefree. Sometimes she hinted that she found them stupid and lazy. That had never helped Fred like her. She had never taken them seriously, always rolling her eyes at them. She still did it.

But she had grown. And her beauty had grown with her. She wasn't everyone else's idea of pretty, but she was Hermione. Fred had gotten to know Hermione, and he had learned that there was more to her than the pesky side. She was pretty in a subtle, natural way. She cared about people. She had cared for him and treated his hand. She enjoyed spending time with him because she reluctantly found him funny and liked talking to him. Fred liked that, and it bothered him when she didn't take him seriously.

That was the problem, Fred realized, staring out the window at the night sky and moon. She probably thought she was just another girl to him. All he had to do was convince her that he was serious.

He smiled. Then he went to sleep after thinking of all the right things to say.

…

"Fred!"

Hermione snatched her hand away after he finally stopped.

The wizard had grabbed her hand in the hallway and led her along the path toward the Quidditch fields, figuring they would have some privacy somewhere near there. He stopped near a lone tree, deciding it was a good marker.

The witch regained her composure, shifting her robes to the right place on her shoulders. She narrowed her eyes at him, considering what his intentions might be.

"I want to talk about what happened," he stated.

Hermione's eyebrows rose. "Oh really," she said. She crossed her arms. On the inside, she felt a little smug.

"I'm serious."

"Serious about what?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"You. Last night."

She gave a brief laugh and looked down with a smile. When she looked back up, he was still wearing a straight face, which she was not all that used to seeing. It occurred to her that maybe she was being a bit mean. She sighed.

"Fred, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to offend you. But how am I supposed to believe that?"

"You think I'm making this up?"

"I think you _think _you're serious…for now."

Fred thought about what that meant. He was pretty sure she was saying that he was only interested in her right now because he was bored with every other option. It made sense, since he _had _recently been slightly involved with a couple of other girls. He supposed he could have the reputation of a player. And damn it all, because he wasserious this time.

Somehow this had been building up for a while. As they had grown closer, he felt that they had both discovered that they feltsomething, but they had ignored it because, as Hermione had said the night before, they were unlikely. Time had passed, and opportunities were wasted because of the mindset "It would never work." Now he didn't care. He wanted to try.

"Hermione, I know you think I'm joking around and have absolutely no goals—believe me, you make that perfectly evident." She watched him, searching his eyes as she listened. "And yes, I've fooled with other girls lately," he added, surprising her that he was so upfront about it. "But I've never 'fooled' with you before, and I never would. You're different."

An amused sniff came from Hermione's nose, and she looked down with a disbelieving smile, shaking her head. When she looked back up she rolled her eyes.

"Alright, _that _is blood_y _infuriating," he said, pointing at her face. "I swear every time you roll your eyes at me you make me want to throw something. I'm trying to tell you that I really _am _being sincere."

The smile disappeared. "I'm sorry," she said gently, regret plain in her voice and eyes.

He forgave her.

He looked away, not sure what to say next. Hermione studied him, mulling over what he had said so far.

Maybe he _was_ serious.

She didn't doubt that he had special feelings for her, but she wasn't sure how far they went or how committed he would be to them. Plus there was an unending amount of complications.

"Look, Fred. It wouldn't work."

He turned back and met her eyes. "That's what I've always thought. But then recently I wondered, Why not?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. "A _number _of reasons. You just said last night that you and George are leaving."

"Yeah, but not yet. And you didn't seem to have a problem with a long-distance thing with Krum."

There should have been some sort of reaction, but Hermione's expression didn't change at all, which revealed to Fred that he had just said something wrong.

"I mean…not for a while…" He swallowed, realized he had probably just caused himself a considerable amount of damage. Still Hermione did not say anything. Fred changed his tone, trying to tread lightly. "…What exactly happened?"

The witch looked away with her face still void of expression. She watched the bent green blades of grass move in the breeze.

"He's just busy with his career, and far away…and older."

Fred silently agreed. Four years could be a bit of a gap, even with a girl as mature as Hermione.

"So are other girls."

And he realized that Hermione was probably convinced that she knew exactly what she was talking about when she said that Fred was only serious about her at the moment. It was the same reason that him being recently involved with other girls had mattered so much to her. She was trying to be more careful than she had been in the past.

Hermione was aware of Fred stepping toward her reaching his arms around her. She let him lean her head on his shoulder, and he held her gently.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "Blokes are idiots."

She smiled and gave a short, faint laugh. "No, it happens. I should have realized it would," she said self-deprecatingly.

"No," Fred disagreed firmly. "Really. He's a git." He didn't add that he was pretty sure Krum had just kept her on the side for amusement the whole time while getting action that was more close by. Even if she didn't realize that, she had probably been hurt enough.

They stood in embrace for a couple of minutes, not saying anything. Fred thought he should probably wait longer before continuing to pursue Hermione---just a day or two.

"Listen," he said softly. "I guess I understand why you wouldn't want to get involved."

"Fred, it's not just that, and it's not that I don't want to."

He moved and looked down at her, surprised, then happy, then cautious.

"Then what is it?"

"Fred, think of the time we're living in. We're about to be at war! And you're still a bit older…"

"Not as old as stupid Krum," he replied, not caring how she felt about the insult. "As hopeless and careless as people think I am, I'm still better than that. And alright, maybe we are about to be at war, but I'm not asking you to bloody marry me. I don't know how long this would last. But I don't want to leave without knowing if something could have happened." He gazed at her, and she was struck by how intense his gaze was, and how strong his words indicated that his feelings were.

"But…if you really think it's best not to," he added slowly and reluctantly, "…then I'll accept that."

She stared back at him, and she had that starry-eyed expression she had had the night before when he had called her "special." He said nothing, waiting for any answer she gave. Hopefully, he had said enough of the right things, but even then he was prepared to be selfless. They could be friends. If nothing else, he truly wanted that.

Then she tightened her jaw, finally deciding something, and she immediately loosened it and blinked. Hermione then moved forward. Fred stayed still until her lips met his.

He hated breaking the kiss, and it took a couple of seconds for him to pull back.

"…Just so I understand, does that mean what I think it does?"

Her mouth curved into a very happy smile. "Yes, it does."

His hand reached up from her back to her hair, and he combed through a bunch of it, suddenly feeling very fortunate. He smiled back, and they stood there simply smiling at each other.

"Should I wretch, or just laugh?" a familiar unpleasant voice asked.

The two sharply turned their heads to find Draco Malfoy a little ways on the other side of the tree, partly blocked from view. He stood staring, his arms folded. This was one of those rare times he was alone.

"Oh look, Hermione," Fred muttered. "Vermin."

They both moved around the tree to fully face Malfoy.

"You know, Malfoy," said Fred loudly, "I'll have to make a point to study that Tranfiguration spell that Mad-eye Moody's imposter used on you last year. It looked like quite the stress reliever."

"That's very funny, Weasley, considering the high-stress risk at which you've just put yourself," replied Malfoy with a smirk.

Fred steadily straightened, suddenly very alert, and he subtly reached through his robes.

He had better not say it.

"I would think a pureblood such as yourself would consider that kind of Mudblood contamination very stressful." Malfoy paused, then smiled. "But I suppose I haven't learned to expect the behavior of blood traitors."

Hermione glanced at Fred out of the corner of her eye, sensing danger.

Fred made calculations and briefly considered their consequences as he breathed steadily, not making a sound.

The Killing Curse would probably be very satisfying for about a week, but Malfoy wasn't worth Azkaban. That also ruled out the Cruciatus Curse, as much as Fred wanted to inflict unfathomable pain on him.

Fred's fingers gripped his wand in his pocket.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised to not get much of a reaction out of Fred.

"Apologize," Fred ordered quietly and serenely, without facial expression.

A short, bemused laugh came from Malfoy. "What makes you think I'm about to apologize to _that_?" he asked, jerking a shoulder toward Hermione.

"Fred, don't," murmured Hermione, not quite sure what she was telling him not to do. All she knew was that he was about to do something that would get him into trouble. Umbridge would be so gleeful to punish him for assaulting her favorite lapdog.

Even more furious, but keeping it well hidden, Fred said, "One more chance. Apologize."

"Heh, I think I'll pass."

Very quickly Fred drew his wand from his pocket. He slashed it through the air without a word, showing no emotion on his face. A red light flew at Malfoy hitting him in the torso. He was thrown back with a sudden shriek.

Fred stepped forward, thinking quickly and ignoring Hermione frantically calling his name.

Being older and more advanced, he had the advantage of knowing how to use nonverbal spells. He would know anything Malfoy was about to use because the bastard would have to say it. But that would give him the chance to use the Shield spell.

Swiftly Fred waved his wand again.

Malfoy's body instantly straightened and went stiff. Fred calmly walked toward where he laid on the ground and stopped in front of him, standing straight and tall as he looked down at his opponent, who stared with wide eyes

"You know, Malfoy," said Fred viciously, "you're not very smart in general…but you're even less smart when you're alone."

Hermione followed and rushed to his side. She grabbed his arm with urgency.

"Fred, stop it."

He finally acknowledged her, and turned to face her.

"But…did you hear what he called you?" he asked, almost whining.

"So what, he says it almost every day. You'll just get into trouble. Think of what Umbridge will do."

"I don't care. The git needs to be taught a lesson in manners."

"The way he'll spin it, he'll probably get us both in trouble," she tried.

Fred's eyes fell to the ground in thought.

"Well shit. Didn't think of that."

Hermione clutched his hand in silence, hoping her reasoning had enough power of persuasion in it.

A Memory Charm would do as a cover, but Fred wanted to leave an impact on Malfoy. If he forgot it all, it was like it never happened, and Fred might as well not do anything.

A huge sigh rose from Fred's chest and escaped him. Bothered, he dropped his head in defeat.

"You're right," he said.

Then he lifted his arm again and freed Malfoy from the Bodylock. Malfoy jerked immediately, but before he could reach his wand, Fred again waved his wand.

"You—" Malfoy began furiously, but Fred's Memory Charm took effect. The rage in his eyes slowly disappeared, and his face relaxed. He blinked several times, then looked at them both in confusion. He stood up, eyeing them both, then quickly turned and walked back to the castle.

Fred glared after him, feeling very unsatisfied.

Hermione saw the look on his face. She wrapped her arms around him, smiled very happily, and reached up to kiss his lips.

Fred was surprised, but he closed his eyes and kissed back, placing his hands at her waist.

Hermione pulled away after a few seconds. "That was _hot_," she murmured, and Fred opened his eyes, seeing that she was smirking in a way that was very un-Hermione. Fred couldn't keep a grin off his face.

"I'd fight for your honor any day, fair lady," he declared.

…

_Author's Note_: Whoo…sorry that took so long. I was doing some research for canon accuracy, and then college got…distracting.

Hopefully this was as pleasant as the first part. I squeed myself right after I finished writing the bulk of this, but I don't quite feel the same about it anymore. Oh, well. If you read it, please review it and tell me what you liked, what can be fixed, etc. And I thank all those who responded enthusiastically to the first part of this little arc. I'm glad to provide to fans of one of my less supported favorite pairings.


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